Rachel Goes to Carmel
by majestic seahorse
Summary: What if Rachel was in Vocal Adrenaline when Jesse was called back to Carmel to replace Dustin Goolsby after he got fired?
1. Chapter 1

Today felt like a normal day for Rachel Berry when she woke up. Little did she know it definitely was not.

When Rachel woke up that day, she went through her daily routine before school. She took a shower and moved to her closet to pick out her outfit for the day, even though she knew it would be covered in slushy by the end of the day. Her bullying situation at McKinley had slowly been getting worse, not that her dads would have ever known. Finn had broken up with her because he decided he wanted to get back with Quinn.

"She's hot and she doesn't dress in weird animal sweaters." He told her.

Rachel had been devastated because she had thought Finn really loved her_. I guess I didn't learn my lesson with Jesse… _She realized in that moment that no one would love her (besides her dads). Her own mother didn't want her, so why should anyone else?

Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. _I'm never going to be good enough for someone or a career, if I stay at McKinley…_ She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw the time. She would have to hurry to make it on time. She grabbed her spare clothes on her way into the kitchen. She made her herself a toasted bagel and poured some orange juice for on the way to school.

Once she arrived at school, she rushed to her locker to put her extra clothes in and get her Algebra II book out. About 10 feet away from her destination, she was violently shoved into the row of lockers beside her. Rachel knew in her gut it was Karofsky, events like this where a daily occurrence for her.

"Fag spawn! I thought I told you I never wanted to see your face again… ever! So what are you doing here?" He spat hatefully.

"I have to go to school…" Rachel whispered meekly.

She was no longer the confident girl she was when she was a freshman. Like all incoming freshman, she had hopes for high school, that it would be a better place than middle school was. This was not the case though; high school and life had broken down her barriers.

"Not here you're not, freak! I'm tired of all you Glee club fairies prancing around like you have a right to."

Karofsky moved forward, causing Rachel to back away in fear. She knows he is capable of anything and that's what scares her.

"I wouldn't hit a girl, but I don't know what you are. You're an IT, hatched by two ugly fags, so that rule doesn't apply to you." He smiles evilly at her.

He shoved her as hard as he could into the lockers behind her, causing her to take a bad spill on to the floor. Rachel was sure, that she had sprained her wrist badly. She cried out loudly from the pain.

Mr. Shue heard the noise form his empty classroom down the hall and went to check it out. When he saw Rachel on the floor with Karofsky standing over her, he went to split them up.

"Step away, Dave" glared Mr. Shue.

He helped Rachel up, intending to take her ot eh nurse, but he also needed to escort Karofsky to the principal's office. Shuester hoped that Figgins would actually do something about it. This was the second person that had suffered at the hands of Dave Karofsky. The first one was Kurt and he had switched schools in fear of Karofsky.

"Mr. Shue, I am perfectly capable of walking myself to the nurse, so you can deal with him." She nervously pointed at Karofsky, earning her a glare. _Oh, maybe I shouldn't have done that…_

"Are you sure Rachel?" questioned Mr. Shue.

He was concerned about her. That wasn't some light trip she just went through. He decided he would call her dads and tell them to keep an eye on her. Maybe pick her up for the day as a precaution. The Glee club would understand her missing one day, surely since she was there every day.

****Rachel's dads come to pick her up at school****

"We are looking for our daughter, Rachel Berry?" Hiram Berry asked the lady.

"She is in the nurse's room, over there" Pointed the office TA.

Rachel closed her eyes, she knew she was doomed. Her fathers would never believe clumsiness, she was the most coordinated person they knew. She ran out of time for excuses when she heard a throat clearing across the room. She opened her eyes to see the faces of her fathers, Leroy and Hiram Berry. They had looks of confusion anger and sadness on their faces.

"Why didn't you tell us you were having troubles with bullying at school, honey? Don't try to say you aren't because Mr. Shuester told us on the phone when he called to say you were in the nurse's office." Hiram asked.

"I didn't want anyone outside of school finding out, which means you guys." She whispered, "I didn't want to bother you with my problem. They are my problems. It's my fault that I have no friends and now I'm wondering if I'm even talented…"

"Rachel Barbra Berry! You are talented and don't' you dare doubt it. We thought about you bullying on the way here and you just made our decision easier… Monday morning, you are starting at Carmel High School. You need to get away from this place. We never thought it would be this bad." Leroy was hurt; he thought his daughter knew she could come to them about anything.

"Dad, Daddy! I can't go to Carmel, remember Vocal Adrenaline egged me. That is against my beliefs as a vegan."

"We know they egged you sweetie, but you said most of them were seniors including Jesse, so almost everyone could be gone. Besides it's either Carmel or Akron Christian and I don't think you want to go to a Christian school." Leroy stated.

"I guess they could be gone…" mumbled Rachel, ignoring the Christian comment.

"At least try it. If you don't like it, we can figure out something else… please?" pleaded Hiram.

"Okay." Rachel agreed. She would do anything to make her dads happy, even if it meant going to Carmel for the rest of high school.

* * *

Jesse was sitting in his house in Akron, thinking about the offer he had two weeks to decide on. The offer was coach of his high school alma mater's glee club, Vocal Adrenaline. Those words held many memories for him. Heartbreak, betrayal, happiness, acceptance, victory, the list went on. Still, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget about… _her…_

She was his soul-mate. He could match her intellectually and vocally. The same could be said about her matching him, he was sure of it. He thought about her sometimes. He wondered if she was with the jolly green giant and how serious they were about each other. He knew if he ever saw Rachel and she was not with Finnocence, then he would try to re-kindle their relationship, if she would allow it. For now, he was thinking about his immediate future.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel was sitting at home watching "Funny Girl". Yesterday, her dads had found out about the bullying and pulled her from McKinley. Today was Friday, so she still had the whole weekend until her first day as a student at Carmel. Watching "Funny Girl" provoked some partially unwanted memories for Rachel. One of Shelby, her mother that didn't want to be her mom and the other was more painful. It was of Jesse, when he would have musical marathons with her at her house. Despite being in a relationship with Finn, she still often thought about Jesse, sometimes unintentionally comparing the two. Rachel just hoped that this weekend went by fast because she would just keep stressing until Monday…

Beep, Beep, Beep, Bee-

Rachel slammed the off button on her alarm clock and got out of bed. _Ugh, it's Monday,_ she thought to herself. She had been thinking about skipping her morning routine because she was nervous. She decided against it because her morning routine gave her confidence about her day. While she exercised on her stationary bike, she thought about how Carmel would be since she would be there in a few hours. _I hope that none of the VA members who egged me will give me trouble. That is, if any of them are still there… _ She looked at the clock and it was time to shower if she wanted to be on-time for her first day.

Rachel pulled into Carmel's parking lot 30 minutes before school started since she need to go get her schedule and make sure it was correct. As she made her way to the office, she passed more people than she expected to. When she reached the office, she walked up to the secretary.

"Hi, I need to pick up my new schedule. My name is Rachel Berry. I just transferred in."

"Hold on, I'll get it for you."

Rachel received her schedule and looked it over. She had:

1st period ~ US History

2nd period ~ Pre-Calculus

3rd period ~ AP Language

4th period ~ AP Chemistry

LUNCH

5th period ~ Music Appreciation

6th period ~ Advanced Voice Techniques

_Not bad… At least I have two music classes in a row, even in the same classroom! I wonder if Mr. Goolsby teaches them since I know Shelby is spending time with Beth…"_

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding

_Wow, it's already lunchtime. Today has gone by fast, _she thought.

On her way to lunch, Rachel encountered her first VA members of the day. She tried to walk by hoping that they wouldn't say anything to her.

"Rachel Berry? What are you doing at Carmel? Wait, do you go here now?"

"Yes, my fathers made me switch schools because of all the hostility at McKinley. Carmel has a Zero-Tolerance policy about bullying, so that appealed to my dads"

"My name is Kara Daniels. Just so you know, I didn't egg you last year. That was the seniors and some juniors, who are seniors now. I've heard you sing before, are you going to audition for Vocal Adrenaline? Currently, we don't have a coach because Mr. Goolsby was fired when we lost Nationals. We have a panel of adults judging applicants until we can find a new coach. For the music classes, we have a qualified substitute while the school races for a new coach." She explains.

"It's a possibility that I might audition, I'm not sure yet though."

"Well, see you later, Rachel. Bye"

With that, Rachel went to lunch and finished her day at school thinking about her option of auditioning for Vocal Adrenaline. Rachel knew she probably would since she HAS to sing. She needs an audience because audiences applaud talented people like herself….


End file.
